Here’s a thing. My partner and I are a little bit obsessed with tiny houses and the design and thoughtfulness that goes into them. We have spent many an hour watching tiny homes videos online, and looking at tiny house layouts and photos.

Our tiny house fascination is fueled by the fact our house is really small. As we slowly renovate it we are always looking for clever ideas on how to maximise our living space and squeeze in clever storage ideas. We have been pretty good at getting rid of extraneous stuff, but two adults plus two kids plus pets in a small house means we do get that feeling that maybe our house could be a little more organised and better thought out than it is currently. The attention to detail and level of planning that goes into tiny houses therefore just provide me with so much inspiration.

We recently came across Tiny House Scotland, by Linlithgow based designer Jonathan Avery, and I think I can safely say that Jonathan’s Nest House is my very favourite of all the tiny houses. I’d go so far to say, without hyperbole, that it’s the perfect tiny house.

Have a little look, I’m sure you’ll love it too:

As well as looking pretty, this wooden constructed tiny house is well thought out, inside and out. It’s highly insulated and sealed to Passivhaus standards, and all wood is FSC and PEFC certified.

Whilst it is indeed a 5 ton house, as it’s movable on wheels, the Nest House is handily classed as a caravan for planning purposes and sized within householder permitted development rights. If you need to expand, retrofitting options are planned (such as a ‘kids’ module for sleeping and playing in). Starting prices range from £17,000 – £38,000 depending on size and options for a truly affordable, sustainable and beautiful home.

Jonathan is currently involved with Edinburgh eatery/social business Social Bite. Social Bite are currently fundraising to build a “Social Bite Village” – a village for the homeless, to support them back on to their feet and into employment. The plan is that Jonathan’s low cost sustainable buildings will be used for the village. You can find out more about this revolutionary project (and perhaps donate to it) on Social Bite’s Justgiving page.

If you didn’t already know, every home in Great Britain between now and 2020 will be offered the opportunity to upgrade to gas and electricity smart meters. This means that over 53 million new meters will be installed in homes up and down the country, and your energy supplier will install the new technology at no extra cost.

Smart meters come with a portable in-home display that shows you in near real time how much energy you are using and the true cost in a language that we all understand, pounds and pence. The smart meter sends your meter readings to your supplier meaning no more estimated bills, you pay exactly for what you use.

When analogue energy meters are upgraded to smart meters, they are taken away and their parts recycled. In the spirit of this, to mark the coming of the control that smart meters bring, in association with Smart Energy GB, three lovely bloggers have taken the inner workings of an old analogue electricity meter and working with North London boutique jeweller, Tomfoolery, have up-cycled the components into stylish pieces of jewellery. The Meters Collection!

You can see the pieces created by Fresh & Fearless, Taislany Gomes and Tales of a Pale Face below. And the good news is that each blogger has five pieces of their creation to give away to their readers. All you have to do is pop over to their blog, tell them one of the benefits of smart meters (hint, look at the second paragraph) and you’ll be entered into the draw, and just in time for Christmas.

Here are the blogs in question and the lovely prizes you could win. Follow the link to enter the giveaway on each blogger’s page:

Hello

I'm Wendy and welcome to Moral Fibres, my green lifestyle blog. I believe that sustainable living should be hip, not hippie. If you do too then you'll love it here! In the blog you'll find all sorts of thrifty and easy hints and tips for living a greener life that won't compromise your sense of style.